Wednesday, March 13, 2024

3/12/24: My Dad Got Genetic Testing

Turns out, my dad has the same BRCA2 VUS that I have.

He went through the process of getting tested with my genetic counselor, and on the report he got with his results, it says:

"[T]here is one Chinese based laboratory that suggests the variant is likely pathogenic (associated with cancer risk), and another Italian based laboratory that suggests the variant is likely benign (not associated with cancer risk)."

Both labs are outside the U.S. and their standards are unknown. Plus, with contradictory findings, it's just a lot of data that doesn't actually move the VUS classification.

The report goes on to say that additional family genetic testing can help "in an effort to learn more about whether this particular variant in BRCA2 tracks with the cancer in your family." I think it's very interesting that my dad and I both have this variant and we both had cancer (my dad had prostate cancer, which is also linked to the BRCA2 gene), while my 3 cousins who got tested all do not have this variant and do not have a history of cancer. We have a few more relatives on that side of the family who have had cancer but haven't gotten genetic testing; I'd be interested in knowing their results!

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